Kenneth D. Burman, M.D., To Speak about Thyroid Cancer Treatment and Research on Saturday, November 15

FREE

Kenneth D. Burman, M.D., Director of Endocrinology at the Washington Hospital Center in Washington, DC, will speak and answer questions about thyroid cancer treatment and research on Saturday, November 15, from 10:30 a.m. to 12 noon at the Washington, DC, thyroid cancer support group meeting, at Holy Cross Hospital, 1500 Forest Glen Road, Silver Spring, Maryland, in the physicians’ dining room on the second floor in the cafeteria. The hospital is located near Georgia Avenue, the Beltway I-495, and the Forest Glen Metro Station.

This free presentation and question-and-answer session is open to people at all stages of testing, treatment, and follow-up for thyroid cancer, as well as their families and friends.

Dr. Burman is a medical advisor for ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association, Inc.

For more information, contact Gary Bloom, the thyroid cancer support group facilitator, by e-mail atWashington_DC@thyca.org.

Free services and resources for thyroid cancer survivors are provided by ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association, Inc. ThyCa is a nonprofit, volunteer organization providing person-to-person and e-mail support groups, a free low-iodine cookbook, a free newsletter, and other educational services and resources to thyroid cancer survivors and their families at no charge. For more information, visit the web site, call toll-free 1-877-588-7904, write PO Box 1545, New York, NY 10159-1545, or e-mail.

ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association, Inc. held its 6th International Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Conference in Houston, Texas on October 24-26, 2003, bringing together more than 330 participants from 32 states, 2 Canadian provinces, and the United Kingdom.

Attendees included survivors of every type of thyroid cancer (papillary, follicular, medullary, anaplastic, and variants), from those newly diagnosed and awaiting surgery to survivors of more than 30 years, as well as caregivers and friends. Participants ranged in age from children under age 10 to seniors.

The 19 physician speakers included specialists in endocrinology, surgery, pathology, nuclear medicine, and medical oncology from M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Washington University School of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, University of Cincinnati Medical School, and additional centers.

Endocrinologists speaking included Douglas Ball, M.D., James A. Fagin, M.D., Robert F. Gagel, M.D., Carlos R. Hamilton, Jr., M.D., Ana O. Hoff, M.D., Sheldon Rubenfeld, M.D., Nicholas J. Sarlis, M.D., Ph.D., Steven I. Sherman, M.D., and Steven G. Waguespack, M.D. Physician speakers also included specialists in surgery, pathology, nuclear medicine, and medical oncology. Dr. Rubenfeld donated copies of the second edition of his book Could It Be My Thyroid to each conference attendee as well as to ThyCa’s volunteer support group facilitators unable to attend.

Facilitators of the more than 90 sessions over the three days also included research nurses, a pharmacist, mental health professionals, a chaplain, an attorney specializing in employment and workplace issues, specialists in complementary approaches and coping skills for well-being, and many long-term survivors as well as caregivers.

Next year’s 7th International Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Conference will be held in Chicago, Illinois at the Hyatt Deerfield Hotel, on October 22-24, 2004. ThyCa invites thyroid cancer survivors, families, and friends to tell their friends and relatives about ThyCa’s free year-round support services and publications, including its award-winning educational web site, as well as about next year’s conference and free spring workshops.

Information about thyroid cancer care and research and about ThyCa’s free services, publications, and special events is available on the ThyCa web site, by writing to P.O. Box 1545, New York, NY 10159-1545, by calling toll free 1-877-588-7904, or by e-mailing.

WHAT: Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ 6th International Conference

WHO: Thyroid cancer survivors, family members, caregivers, friends, and over 50 speakers, including leading physicians from the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Texas Medical Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Washington University School of Medicine, and other institutions. Sessions on thyroid cancer care and research are for people at all phases of testing, treatment, and long-term follow-up for all types of thyroid cancer, as well as families and friends. Additional speakers include mental health professionals, attorneys specializing in health insurance and employment issues, specialists in complementary approaches to well-being, long-term thyroid cancer survivors, and caregivers.

WHEN: October 24-26, 2003
Conference Registration Opens at 8 a.m., Friday, October 24. Presentations, Workshops, and Roundtables take place all day Friday, October 24; Saturday, October 25; and Sunday, October 26. Sessions end at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday.

WHERE: Wyndham Greenspoint Hotel, 12400 Greenspoint Drive, Houston, Texas

WHY: To provide a three-day educational, supportive, and networking opportunity for people with all types of thyroid cancer at all stages of testing, treatment, and follow-up, as well as their family members and friends, by providing them access to leading physicians involved in treatment and research, mental health professionals, attorneys, specialists in coping skills and well-being, and other thyroid cancer survivors and caregivers.

COST: $50. Family/guests $30. Register on site or in advance. Walk-in attendees welcome. Discounts for ThyCa members. FREE to anyone who requests a scholarship.

SPONSOR: ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association, Inc. An all-volunteer national nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization. E-mail: thyca@thyca.org.

INFORMATION: Speaker list, program schedule, and registration materials are available on the web site <www.thyca.org>. For more information, e-mail to thyca@thyca.org , call toll free 1-877-588-7904, or visit the web site.

Media Contact: Cherry Wunderlich 301-493-8810 cwunderlich@thyca.org
ThyCa Corresponding Secretary

Physicians from the American Thyroid Association will speak and answer questions about all types of thyroid diseases, including thyroid cancer, at a free public awareness education forum, “Thyroid Disease and You,” on Thursday, September 18.

The forum takes place from 7 to 9 p.m. at The Breakers Hotel, One South County Road, Palm Beach, Florida. The event also features patients’ perspectives on their hypothyroidism, Graves’ disease, and thyroid cancer.

This free forum is open to the public. Attendees will receive free educational materials about thyroid diseases, which affect more than 13 million Americans of all ages.

The forum’s sponsor, the American Thyroid Association, is a nonprofit professional medical society comprised of physicians and scientists dedicated to enhancing the understanding of thyroid physiology and the diagnosis and treatment of thyroid disorders. The public forum takes place in conjunction with the American Thyroid Association’s annual meeting in Palm Beach the same week.

ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association is one of the event’s co-sponsors. Representing ThyCa at the forum will be Leah Guljord, ThyCa Support Groups Coordinator, faciliator of the ThyCa Spacecoast, Florida, local support group, and editor of ThyCa’s Low Iodine Cookbook. ThyCa will have literature displays and free handout materials on thyroid cancer at the public forum and the ATA meeting.

Walk-in attendees are welcome. For more information about this free event or to register, e-mail to ThyCa atthyca@thyca.org, or visit the web site of the American Thyroid Association <www.thyroid.org> or ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association <>www.thyca.org.

The week of September 15-21, 2003 is Thyroid Cancer Awareness Week. ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association is the sponsor.

The goal of the week is to increase public awareness and understanding of thyroid cancer, early detection, treatment, and ThyCa’s free support and education services. ThyCa also seeks to raise awareness of the need for more thyroid cancer research.

ThyCa’s web site has a new section titled Thyroid Cancer Awareness Week. It’s linked from the right side of the Home Page. The section has the new flyer, “Yes, it’s real,” a fact sheet titled “About Thyroid Cancer “, and other materials.

ThyCa’s web site has hundreds of pages of information about all types of thyroid cancer, diagnosis, treatment, research, clinical trials, questions to ask the doctor, local support groups, e-mail support groups, a calendar of coming events, the Rally for Research, and the annual conference October 24-26, 2003. Readers can also download ThyCa’s free publications, including the Low Iodine Cookbook, fact sheets, and online newsletters, from the web site.

On Saturday, September 13, 2003, Silicon Valley’s first support group for thyroid cancer survivors will hold its first meeting, from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. in Redwood City, California. (For meeting details, see the ThyCa web site Support Groups section.) ThyCa Silicon Valley will meet on the second Saturday afternoon each month thereafter, with the meetings in October and the following months starting at 3 p.m. and going to 4:30 p.m.

Organized by ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association, Inc., the ThyCa Silicon Valley support group is free and open to all thyroid cancer survivors, their families, friends, and caregivers. For information about ThyCa Silicon Valley, contact Gail Schuler by phone at 650-363-0529 or e-mail to SiliconValley@thyca.org.

Support groups for thyroid cancer survivors are organized across the United States by ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association, Inc. ThyCa is a nonprofit, volunteer organization providing person-to-person and e-mail support groups, a free low-iodine cookbook, a free newsletter, and other educational services and resources to thyroid cancer survivors and their families at no charge. ThyCa’s annual Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Conference takes place on October 24-26, 2003, in Houston, Texas.

For more information about ThyCa’s services, visit the web site at www.thyca.org, call toll-free 1-877-588-7904, write PO Box 1545, New York, NY 10159-1545, or e-mail to thyca@thyca.org.

ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association, Inc. is pleased to announce the awarding of its first grant for thyroid cancer research. The grant recipient is Xiulong Xu, Ph.D., of Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois. Dr. Xu’s project will focus on the relationship between a gene mutation and the most common type of thyroid cancer, with the ultimate goal of designing better treatment strategies for more than one type of thyroid cancer.

Dr. Xu is Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery at Rush Medical College. He earned three doctoral degrees between 1983 and 1990, including two in virology and one in veterinary medicine, from universities in China and Germany. He joined the medical research efforts at Rush Medical College in 1990 and became a medical school faculty member in 1996.

Dr. Xu’s previous research and papers have been published in peer-reviewed medical journals on cancer, surgery, pharmacology, and immunology. Through the ThyCa research grant, Dr. Xu will focus on the BRAF gene mutation in papillary thyroid cancer, with the goal of demonstrating that a particular molecular target would be relevant for chemotherapy or gene therapy. The research also aims to show a pathway through which anaplastic thyroid cancer might be redifferentiated to make radioiodine treatment effective.

The grant recipient was selected by the scientific review panel of the American Thyroid Association, the professional association of clinicians and researchers involved in thyroid diseases.

The grant fundraising was conducted by the volunteers of ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association, Inc. through its campaign for thyroid cancer research.

After being notified of his award, Dr. Xu thanked ThyCa “for making this fund available. I am very grateful to the organization and those who donated their monies for making this happen. I feel compelled to work hard to improve our understanding of thyroid tumorigenesis for designing better therapeutic strategies for thyroid cancer. Thank you again to those who volunteer to work in the organization.”

“We are proud of this milestone in our support for research directed to finding a cure for all thyroid cancer and grateful to the many volunteers and donors who made it possible,” said Joni Eskenazi, Seattle, Washington, ThyCa Board Member and Fundraising Chair.

Gary Bloom, ThyCa Board Chair, said, “As an all-volunteer organization, our donations go to the direct support of our mission and not to administrative overhead. We thank the ATA for its support and expertise in providing scientific peer review of all the grant applications. This allows the volunteers of ThyCa to raise money for research and at the same time focus on our support and education projects.”

“This grant award, as well as future grants, will be awarded to the applicants that have the best combination of scientific merit, appropriately skilled researchers, the greatest likelihood for success, and the highest benefit for the thyroid cancer patient community, as determined by the ATA’s independent scientific panel, regardless of hospital or institution affiliation.”

ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association, Inc., is an all-volunteer, national nonprofit 501 (c)(3) service organization of thyroid cancer survivors, families, and health care professionals. ThyCa’s mission is education, support, and communication for people at all stages of testing, treatment, and follow-up for all types of thyroid cancer, as well as for their families and friends.

Free support services and resources include ThyCa’s award-winning educational web site, seven e-mail support groups, local support groups coast to coast, a toll-free survivors’ telephone number, a free online newsletter, a free downloadable low-iodine cookbook, and regional one-day workshops.

In addition, ThyCa’s 6th International Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Conference will take place October 24-26, 2003 in Houston, Texas, at the Wyndham Greenspoint Hotel. ThyCa’s annual international conference brings together thyroid cancer survivors, families, and experts in thyroid cancer treatment and research.

Information about thyroid cancer, ThyCa’s free support services, and the annual conference is available by writing to PO Box 1545, New York, NY 10159-1545, e-mail thyca@thyca.org, or the ThyCa web site, www.thyca.org.

“When I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer three years ago, I knew little about the thyroid and nothing about the treatment of this type of cancer,” explained Roselle Kovitz. After briefly joining online thyroid cancer support groups, Kovitz, then a Nebraska resident, felt it important to provide local thyroid cancer patients an opportunity to meet face-to-face and began organizing the state’s first local group. Upon moving to Lynnwood, Kovitz began organizing Washington’s first local group.

Beginning on Thursday, June 26, 2003, Seattle’s first support group for thyroid cancer survivors will meet from 7 p.m. to 8: 30 p.m. at the Cancer Lifeline, 6522 Fremont Ave. N, Seattle, Washington. ThyCa Seattle will meet on the fourth Thursday evening thereafter. Organized by ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association, Inc., the ThyCa Seattle support group is free and open to all thyroid cancer survivors, their families, friends, and caregivers. For information about ThyCa Seattle, contact Roselle Kovitz by phone at 425-743-4401 or write Seattle-WA@thyca.org.

Support groups for thyroid cancer survivors are organized across the United States by ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association, Inc. ThyCa is a nonprofit, volunteer organization providing person-to-person and e-mail support groups, a free low-iodine cookbook, a free newsletter, and other educational services and resources to thyroid cancer survivors and their families at no charge. For more information, visit the web site at www.thyca.org, call toll-free 1-877-588-7904, write PO Box 1545, New York, NY 10159-1545, or e-mail tothyca@thyca.org.

ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association, Inc., is pleased to announce that R. Michael Tuttle, M.D. has become a member of ThyCa’s Medical Advisory Council.

Dr. Tuttle is an endocrinologist at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, New York. He is also Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Cornell School of Medicine.

His presentations at last year’s Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Conference and one of ThyCa’s spring workshops focused on PET scans and other imaging techniques, the use of recombinant TSH (Thyrogen) in the management of thyroid cancer, and clinical trials in medullary thyroid cancer.

Dr. Tuttle is also a frequent presenter at meetings of the American Thyroid Association and other professional organizations.

The members of ThyCa’s Medical Advisory Council are involved in thyroid cancer care and research at medical centers around the country. They are world-recognized experts in the field of thyroid cancer. The medical advisors provide valuable guidance to ThyCa, and support ThyCa’s goals in education, treatment, and research.

ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association, Inc., is an all-volunteer nonprofit organization that provides a network of services and resources for thyroid cancer survivors and their families at no charge. Services include support groups, a free low-iodine cookbook, a free newsletter, an award-winning educational web site, free spring workshops, and other educational services and resources.

On October 24-26, 2003, ThyCa’s 6th International Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Conference takes place in Houston, Texas.

For more information about thyroid cancer, ThyCa’s free support services, and the annual conference, visit the web site at www.thyca.org, write PO Box 1545, New York, NY 10159-1545, or e-mail to thyca@thyca.org

On Sunday, June 8, the first New York/New Jersey/Southern Connecticut regional workshop for thyroid cancer survivors and families will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Beth Israel Cancer Center, Phillips Ambulatory Care Center, 10 Union Square East, New York City, New York.

The workshop is FREE and is open to people at all stages of testing and treatment for thyroid cancer, as well as their families, friends, and caregivers.

The day will begin at 9 a.m. with registration and an opportunity for survivors with thyroid cancer, the most common endocrine cancer, and their families to meet informally with other survivors and family members.

The physician speakers include Kenneth D. Burman, M.D., Endocrinologist, Director of Endocrinology, Washington Hospital Center, Washington, DC, one of ThyCa’s medical advisors, and Roy Sessions, M.D., Otolaryngologist, Beth Israel Medical Center.

In addition, Gerry Gedrick, M.S.W., will speak on Relaxation Techniques for Coping with Tension, Stress, and Worries. Christine Rice, Thyrogen Clinical Science Associate, Genzyme Therapeutics, Cambridge, MA, will discuss Thyrogen. Roundtables on Living with Thyroid Cancer will be led by ThyCa volunteers Christine Lanotte, Abby Melendez, and Kim Repola.

The workshop is sponsored by ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association. ThyCa, a voluntary nonprofit, 501(c) (3) organization, provides support services and resources, free of charge, to thyroid cancer survivors and their families.

Transportation directions by car, subway, and bus, plus further details about the workshop are on the ThyCa web site in the Conferences/Workshops section. For more information about the workshop, e-mail toNYC_NY@thyca.org or longisland@thyca.org or call 973-962-1802 or 516-868-8151.

For information about ThyCa’s other free support services and special events, e-mail to thyca@thyca.org, call 1-877-588-7904, or visit the ThyCa web site at www.thyca.org.